SB 466

As Introduced
136th General Assembly
   Regular Session  S. B. No. 466
       2025-2026
  Senator Blessing
  To amend section 2967.194 of the Revised Code to  1
  increase the availability of sentence reduction  2
  credit a prisoner may receive for successfully  3
  participating in specified programs.  4
 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF OHIO:
     Section 1. That section 2967.194 of the Revised Code be  5
amended to read as follows:  6
     Sec. 2967.194. (A)(1) Beginning April 4, 2024, the  7
provisions of this section shall apply, in the manner described  8
in division (G) of this section, to persons confined on or after  9
that date in a state correctional institution or in the  10
substance use disorder treatment program.  11
     (2) Except as provided in division (C) of this section and  12
subject to the maximum aggregate total specified in division (A)  13
(4) of this section, a person confined in a state correctional  14
institution or placed in the substance use disorder treatment  15
program may provisionally earn one day or five days of credit,  16
based on the category set forth in division (D)(1) or (2) of  17
this section in which the person is included, toward  18
satisfaction of the person's stated prison term, as described in  19
division (F) of this section, for each completed month during  20
S. B. No. 466  Page 2
As Introduced
which the person, if confined in a state correctional  21
institution, productively participates in an education program,  22
vocational training, employment in prison industries, treatment  23
for substance abuse, or any other constructive program developed  24
by the department of rehabilitation and correction with specific  25
standards for performance by prisoners or during which the  26
person, if placed in the substance use disorder treatment  27
program, productively participates in the program. Except as  28
provided in division (C) of this section and subject to the  29
maximum aggregate total specified in division (A)(4) of this  30
section, a person so confined in a state correctional  31
institution who successfully completes two programs or  32
activities of that type may, in addition, provisionally earn up  33
to five days of credit toward satisfaction of the person's  34
stated prison term, as described in division (F) of this  35
section, for the successful completion of the second program or  36
activity. The person shall not be awarded any provisional days  37
of credit for the successful completion of the first program or  38
activity or for the successful completion of any program or  39
activity that is completed after the second program or activity.  40
At the end of each calendar month in which a person productively  41
participates in a program or activity listed in this division or  42
successfully completes a program or activity listed in this  43
division, the department of rehabilitation and correction shall  44
determine and record the total number of days credit that the  45
person provisionally earned in that calendar month. If the  46
person in a state correctional institution violates prison rules  47
or the person in the substance use disorder treatment program  48
violates program or department rules, the department may deny  49
the person a credit that otherwise could have been provisionally  50
awarded to the person or may withdraw one or more credits  51
previously provisionally earned by the person. Days of credit  52
S. B. No. 466  Page 3
As Introduced
provisionally earned by a person shall be finalized and awarded  53
by the department subject to administrative review by the  54
department of the person's conduct.  55
       (3)(3)(a) Except as provided in division (C) of this  56
section, unless a person is serving a mandatory prison term or a  57
prison term for an offense of violence or a sexually oriented  58
offense, and notwithstanding the maximum aggregate total  59
specified in division (A)(4) of this section, a person who  60
successfully completes any diploma, equivalence, program, or  61
criteria identified in divisions (A)(3)(a) to (g)(b)(i) to (vii)  62
of this section shall earn ninety days of credit toward  63
satisfaction of the person's stated prison term as follows:  64
       (i) For completing a diploma, equivalence, program, or  65
criteria identified in division (A)(3)(b)(i), (ii), (iii), (vi),  66
or (vii) of this section, ninety days of credit or a ten per  67
cent reduction of the person's stated prison term, whichever is  68
less, for each such diploma, equivalence, program, or criteria  69
successfully completed. ;  70
       (ii) For completing a program specified in division (A)(3)  71
(b)(iv) or (v) of this section, one hundred eighty days of  72
credit or a fifteen per cent reduction of the person's stated  73
prison term, whichever is less, for each program completed.  74
       (b) The diplomas, equivalences, programs, and criteria for  75
which credit shall be granted under this division, upon  76
successful completion, are:  77
       (a)(i) An Ohio high school diploma or Ohio certificate of  78
high school equivalence certified by the Ohio central school  79
system;  80
       (b)(ii) A therapeutic drug community program;  81
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As Introduced
       (c)(iii) All three phases of the department of  82
rehabilitation and correction's intensive outpatient drug  83
treatment program;  84
       (d)(iv) A career technical vocational school program;  85
       (e)(v) A college certification program;  86
       (f)(vi) The criteria for a certificate of achievement and  87
employability as specified in division (A)(1) of section 2961.22  88
of the Revised Code;  89
       (g)(vii) Any other constructive program developed by the  90
department of rehabilitation and correction with specific  91
standards for performance by prisoners.  92
       (4) Except for persons described in division (A)(3) of  93
this section, the aggregate days of credit provisionally earned  94
by a person for program or activity participation and program  95
and activity completion under this section and the aggregate  96
days of credit finally credited to a person under this section  97
shall not exceed fifteen twenty-five per cent of the total  98
number of days in the person's stated prison term.  99
       (B) The department of rehabilitation and correction shall  100
adopt rules that specify the programs or activities for which  101
credit may be earned under this section, the criteria for  102
determining productive participation in, or completion of, the  103
programs or activities and the criteria for awarding credit,  104
including criteria for awarding additional credit for successful  105
program or activity completion, and the criteria for denying or  106
withdrawing previously provisionally earned credit as a result  107
of a violation of prison rules, or program or department rules,  108
whichever is applicable.  109
       (C) No person confined in a state correctional institution  110
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As Introduced
or placed in a substance use disorder treatment program to whom  111
any of the following applies shall be awarded any days of credit  112
under division (A)(2) or (3) of this section:  113
       (1) The person is serving a prison term that section  114
2929.13 or section 2929.14 of the Revised Code specifies cannot  115
be reduced pursuant to this section or this chapter or is  116
serving a sentence for which section 2967.13 or division (B) of  117
section 2929.143 of the Revised Code specifies that the person  118
is not entitled to any earned credit under this section.  119
       (2) The person is sentenced to death or is serving a  120
prison term or a term of life imprisonment for aggravated  121
murder, murder, or a conspiracy or attempt to commit, or  122
complicity in committing, aggravated murder or murder.  123
       (3) The person is serving a sentence of life imprisonment  124
without parole imposed pursuant to section 2929.03 or 2929.06 of  125
the Revised Code, a prison term or a term of life imprisonment  126
without parole imposed pursuant to section 2971.03 of the  127
Revised Code, or a sentence for a sexually oriented offense that  128
was committed on or after September 30, 2011.  129
       (D) This division does not apply to a determination of  130
whether a person confined in a state correctional institution or  131
placed in a substance use disorder treatment program may earn  132
any days of credit under division (A)(2) of this section for  133
successful completion of a second program or activity. The  134
determination of whether a person confined in a state  135
correctional institution may earn one day of credit or five days  136
of credit under division (A)(2) of this section for each  137
completed month during which the person productively  138
participates in a program or activity specified under that  139
division shall be made in accordance with the following:  140
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As Introduced
       (1) The offender may earn one day of credit under division  141
(A)(2) of this section, except as provided in division (C) of  142
this section, if the offender is serving a stated prison term  143
that includes a prison term imposed for a sexually oriented  144
offense that the offender committed prior to September 30, 2011.  145
       (2) Except as provided in division (C) of this section, if  146
division (D)(1) of this section does not apply to the offender,  147
the offender may earn five days of credit under division (A)(2)  148
of this section.  149
       (E) The department annually shall seek and consider the  150
written feedback of the Ohio prosecuting attorneys association,  151
the Ohio judicial conference, the Ohio public defender, the Ohio  152
association of criminal defense lawyers, and other organizations  153
and associations that have an interest in the operation of the  154
corrections system and the earned credits program under this  155
section as part of its evaluation of the program and in  156
determining whether to modify the program.  157
       (F) Days of credit awarded under this section shall be  158
applied toward satisfaction of a person's stated prison term as  159
follows:  160
       (1) Toward the definite prison term of a prisoner serving  161
a definite prison term as a stated prison term;  162
       (2) Toward the minimum and maximum terms of a prisoner  163
serving an indefinite prison term imposed under division (A)(1)  164
(a) or (2)(a) of section 2929.14 of the Revised Code for a  165
felony of the first or second degree committed on or after March  166
22, 2019.  167
       (G) The provisions of this section apply to persons  168
confined in a state correctional institution or in the substance  169
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As Introduced
use disorder treatment program on or after April 4, 2024, as  170
follows:  171
       (1) Subject to division (G)(2) of this section, the  172
provisions apply to a person so confined regardless of whether  173
the person committed the offense for which the person is  174
confined in the institution or was placed in the program prior  175
to, on, or after April 4, 2024, and regardless of whether the  176
person was convicted of or pleaded guilty to that offense prior  177
to, on, or after April 4, 2024.  178
       (2) The provisions apply to a person so confined only with  179
respect to the time that the person is so confined on and after  180
April 4, 2024, and the provisions of section 2967.193 of the  181
Revised Code that were in effect prior to April 4, 2024, and  182
that applied to the person prior to that date, including the  183
provisions of division (A)(4) of that section as amended by this  184
act H.B. 33 of the 135th general assembly, apply to the person  185
with respect to the time that the person was so confined prior  186
to April 4, 2024.  187
       (H) As used in this section:  188
       (1) "Sexually oriented offense" has the same meaning as in  189
section 2950.01 of the Revised Code.  190
       (2) "Substance use disorder treatment program" means the  191
substance use disorder treatment program established by the  192
department of rehabilitation and correction under section  193
5120.035 of the Revised Code.  194
       Section 2. That existing section 2967.194 of the Revised  195
Code is hereby repealed.  196